


A Walk In The Rain

by transmollymauk



Series: Tumblr Prompts [2]
Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M, I also love this ship, Writing Prompt, this could be considered a modern au!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:40:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24709240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/transmollymauk/pseuds/transmollymauk
Summary: Prompt: A kiss in the rain. Thank you @arcanecadenza for the prompt!Also posted on my tumblr.
Relationships: Muriel/Nadia (The Arcana)
Series: Tumblr Prompts [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1786435
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	A Walk In The Rain

“...you realize it’s supposed to rain today, right?”

_ Smooth, Muriel, what a way to go. _ The hermit huffed out a sigh, mostly to himself. Curse Asra for giving the countess his address - curse the countess for showing  _ up _ , despite Muriel’s constant untruths of ‘I don’t live anywhere’ or ‘the woods is where I used to live. Now I, uh, I live with… Asra’s cousin.’ She sure was persistent.

Nevertheless, the countess Nadia of Vesuvia stood at the door to the hut, with a parasol in hand for the two of them. She sported her golden smile at the tall man, who scowled in return.  _ If the people knew about this… hush up, thoughts. _

Nadia started to open the parasol, taking her gaze off Muriel momentarily to do so. “That’s the forecast, yes, but in the city,” she spoke with a gentle tone. She looked back at Muriel. “You’re far enough from the hustling side of the city, and a walk would be good for us. We have much to talk about.” She waited for the man to make a decision, and smiled when he stepped outside, closing the door to the hut behind him. She extended a hand to him. He accepted it.

The two set out through the woods; a few chickens tried to follow the countess, but their gentle neighbour shooed them off. Nadia only chuckled with delight at their commotion.

“They, uh… they like people.” Muriel huffed after he set Bok-bok down on a wooden bench. He looked at Nadia’s hand, then his own; he slowly placed them back together, with a bright red blush on his face. Hopefully she wouldn’t say anything.

The countess grinned to herself as she caught him blushing out of the corner of her eye. His eyes went wide and bright when he was like that, she’d noted quite some time ago. He always looked like a deer who stepped out in front of a carriage after night - though he was bigger and less fragile physically. If anything, he was just a gentle soul. How curious.

During their walk, Muriel showed off a few trees he’d had planted throughout the past three years - the birch one Asra gifted him as a housewarming gift, and the cedars that the apprentice wanted him to have before they set off to travel the world. He even directed Nadia’s attention to a small apple tree in the center of a field, which had one lonely apple hanging off a leaning branch. “Did you, uh….” Muriel paused for a second. “Do you want to eat it? It’ll grow another.”

He didn’t wait for her response; he stepped forward, and the tree almost looked thankful when he picked its apple from the branch. He wiped it on his scarf, making sure it was cleaner than it could’ve been, and handed it to the countess. “It’s good. They make good pies…”

Nadia smiled at his offer and gracefully took it in her hand. She nodded to him. “Why, you’re such a gentleman,” she said softly. She took a small bite from it, and made a ‘hmm’ sound. Another bite soon followed.

“S-so, do you like it?” The hermit was fiddling with his fingers, watching her eat. She had a glow about her, with the sun pouring down on her. He didn’t notice an actual downpour as it started, with his eyes on the woman in front of him.

She finished off the fruit moments after the rain began. “It was delightful; you have my sincere appreciation.” After setting the core into her bag at her side, she unhooked her parasol from her arm and lifted it… over Muriel’s head over hers. Muriel shied away from it until Nadia was under it as well. Another sigh.

“We should go back to the hut,” Muriel suggested as they started their journey again. Their hands were once again laced, and Nadia was swinging their arms at a calming rhythm. He could feel himself starting to smile. This was nice…

It wasn’t long before they reached the hut again, and the chickens (and Inanna now as well) swarmed them before they met the door. The rain was getting louder, and there was a feeling of thunder in the air. Still, despite the weather there, it had been a nice outing. But there was one last thing Muriel forgot.

“Countess?” He started, before remembering what she’d said countless times. “...Nadia. This was… this was good. It was nice to be with you - n-not in a weird way. It was nice to… I don’t know how to word this.” The giant frowned. “The thing is-”

Nadia tilted her head with kind eyes set on him. She reached out to touch his hand, which sent shivers down his spine. Hesitantly, his eyes met hers, and then… he kissed her.

He bent down to meet her lips, and while it was brief, he felt like it had lasted years. These feelings he’d had… why were they so overwhelming? She was just as good and nice and kind as everyone had said - but nobody told him that he’d be fascinated by her in ‘that’ way. When they pulled away he placed his hand over his lips, but it didn’t last long. Nadia pulled at the ends of his scarf, sending him down carefully and into another embrace.

It started to thunder when they came up for air, so Muriel opened the hut’s door and offered to let her in for tea. Thankfully, she accepted.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this! This is (sort of) my first fic I've written for The Arcana (I wrote this one before Berry Sweet), and it was really entertaining to write their story! I hope to explore their relationship again soon.
> 
> My tumblr: asralikesmuriel


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